Education aid tied to changes

Governor offers to triple increase for tougher standards

Published 10:15 pm, Wednesday, January 21, 2015

NYS Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, center, awaits the start of Gov. Cuomo's State of the State address and budget proposal Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, N.Y. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less

NYS Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, center, awaits the start of Gov. Cuomo's State of the State address and budget proposal Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center ... more

Better public education starts with better teachers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his 2015 State of the State address, as he called on the state Legislature to adopt new education reforms if they want their school districts to see a significant increase in funding.

In an 11-point list, Cuomo detailed his plans to increase the rigor of public education through higher standards for teachers and reforms to teacher tenure, plus bonuses for high-performing teachers, increasing the number of charter schools and the expansion of mayoral control over failing school districts, among others.

There was a carrot to go with the stick: The reforms would result in an increase of $1.1 billion in state aid if the Legislature accepts his package of reform proposals. But if they reject it, schools will only see $377 million.

"For too many, (education) is now the great discriminator," Cuomo said. "Students in failing schools lag well behind in almost every academic category. ... Over the last 10 years, 250,000 children went through failing schools while the New York state government did nothing, and that has to end this year."

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Cuomo cited the teacher evaluation system as ineffective after recent data showed that 98.7 percent of high school teachers were rated "effective," yet only 38 percent of high school students were found to be college-ready.

But what the governor called his "Opportunity Agenda" was seen by many as a mixed message to teachers and the students they educate.

New York State United Teachers President Karen Magee said she found the proposals "ridiculous."

"The statistics that the governor showed today as it related to teacher evaluation model and student success actually speak to the fact that the governor doesn't really understand what's going on in the classrooms," Magee said. "It doesn't speak to the English-language learners. It doesn't speak to the students with special needs. It fails to speak to where those students started and the amount of progress or growth these students achieved."

Cuomo's new evaluation formula would place half the teacher rating score on state test performance and the other half on at least two in-class observations.

Teachers that receive two ineffective ratings in a row could be removed from their job, unless they can prove that the data is factually inaccurate, Cuomo said.

Many of the proposed reforms fall in line with a recent set of policy proposals from the State Education Department, which was responding to the Cuomo administration's request for more information on the public education system and the policy driving it.

In a 20-page response, Chancellor Merryl Tisch and the Board of Regents said many needed changes could only be accomplished by Cuomo and the Legislature.

Cuomo referenced the Education Department's suggestions repeatedly while announcing his reforms, and reiterated his belief that more money doesn't necessarily equal better programs.

School districts across the state are performing poorly while receiving more money per student than the state average, he said.

Various organizations took issue with his funding numbers, including Alliance for Quality Education, a labor-supported group that advocates for increased school aid.

Its executive director, Billy Easton, said that while Cuomo's budget proposal increases money for education, it is only half of what the Regents and more than 80 legislators have called for.

The proposal "slams the door on the education of thousands of students across the state," Easton added.

Within the Legislature, many already saw the need for increased state funding to public education. As many noted after Cuomo's address, no one wants the state to have a bad education system.

"I think everybody agrees we want great teachers, we want our students to have the best, and we all believe that funding matters, especially in high-needs districts," Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said.

But she acknowledged that money — in large amounts — is needed in order to help get students where they need to be.

"There are so many things that resources would help, so we can't say money doesn't help — because on some levels it does," Stewart-Cousins said. "But we also have to realize that we do have a problem in terms of making sure our kids our competitive in this very, very global and competitive market. We have to do things differently, and we have to do things smart."

It's uncertain how Cuomo's package will be received in the Republican-controlled Senate or the Democrat-dominated Assembly, where special interest groups will be pressing for and against numerous elements of Cuomo's overall education package.

In a bid to balance support, Cuomo included the Democrat-backed DREAM Act, which would open up high education aid for the children of undocumented immigrants, and a tax credit to encourage donations to public schools as well as educational entities that's been sought by backers of charters and religious schools. Cardinal Timothy Dolan supports both measures.

Some observers, including 2014 Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, are still waiting for Common Core standards rejected as a whole — something Cuomo didn't mention in his speech.

Astorino acknowledged that in the meantime something must be done.

"People are failing at too much of a high rate," said Astorino, the Westchester County Executive. "Inner-city schools are not performing to where they should be."

And for now, the teachers will bear the brunt of that weight. John Ewing, president of Math for America, an organization that looks to further educate teachers, praised Cuomo's proposed expansion of the Master Teacher Program.

Cuomo touted the success of the new program, which now has more than 500 teachers who have participated, and received an introduction from one of its alumni.

But Ewing feared a draconian teacher evaluation system could do more harm than good.

"In the process, (Cuomo's) also going to get rid of good teachers because he's making teaching not very attractive," Ewing said. "Who would listen to that part of the speech and want to be a teacher? I can't imagine anybody."